hide-n-(sensory)-seeking

Kit had a very rough Tuesday evening.  She did okay in Walmart that afternoon, but it was good that we were only there for a few items and able to keep it a very short trip. On the way home she started to fall apart. She was very very tired. It was a quarter to five, so I told Victor that after the bags were unloaded, Kit and I would take a drive.  A quiet drive after a busy activity often makes her sleepy, so I figured once the kids were out of the car, and things were calmer that she would knock out, and get a 15-20 minute snooze, and maybe that would help her to be calm enough to go to the Kingdom Hall for the meeting that night.  But her little mind was struggling. And her evening was taking an entirely different shape that looked nothing like a peaceful rest. She cried the entire twenty minute drive to the next town over.  She had told me she was done with her gum, so I took it and wrapped it up in a napkin. Then she asked for a new...

We met up with some friends at a children's museum yesterday. It was a fun and blessedly air-conditioned outing. With the heat of summer steadily pounding heavier and hotter everyday (heat index of 111° yesterday! NOT EVEN CLOSE TO KIDDING), the great outdoors around here veers uncomfortably close to actually being barbecued. So indoor, and inexpensive ($20 for me and the kids) activities are true sanity savers. We had a really good time. It's not a huge place, but the exhibits are fun and really well designed. We spent quite a while at the Bubble Zone. The ambulance. The dentist office. The toddler stations with blocks, Mr. Potato Heads, dominos, Legos, and trains. And we all liked the little café, where Grace immediately felt at home in her chef's hat, bossing everyone else around. Not meanly, but she was definitely in charge. Kit was in love with the dishes, especially the cups. Especially after all the other kids moved on and she had them all to herself! ...

The thunder is rumbling outside. It's a good description of what's going on inside my head, and stomach as well. All of my thoughts are swirling like those storm clouds. Slamming into each other and sending pulses through my consciousness like bolts of electricity. And then settling into a rumble until the next wave of anxiety crashes into my heart again. Kit's evaluation is tomorrow (of course you're reading this today, so it's today). I am really uneasy. I'm anxious. I'm scared. I am so afraid of another person looking at me like I'm crazy or "over-concerned". I cringe at the thought of hearing the words "she's just a baby, let's wait and see"... again. My stomach turns at the thought that these women could potentially leave my home tomorrow knowing full well that my baby has real, evident issues, but not enough to qualify for their help. How much worse does she have to get before she gets better?! My tea...

I had a sensory meltdown the other day. Never mind that I was particularly agitated by everything that day. Probably because I woke up to a bleach bombardment of my allergies (miserable but necessary). Never mind that despite me alerting everyone in the family that I wanted to leave much earlier than usual for gymnastics in order to grab a bite to eat on the way, we still barely made it there on time. Without food! But being hungry didn't cause it. These just contributed to the buildup. What sent me into a sensory mommy meltdown sounds stupid. Sounds pretty minor and quite frankly from an outsiders point of view can seem pretty ridiculous. I probably just look whiny. It was the driver's seat, when I went to sit on it to drive to gymnastics. All the settings had been changed. My settings. My comfortable, took me weeks to finally get just right, settings. This was not the kind of adjustment Victor makes when he drives the van. He and I have an agreement. He moves the sea...

Kit's sleep issues have morphed. Now she can only fall asleep if someone else, specifically, Daddy, holds her. This is a wonderful blessing in many ways! I have a reliable way now for her to get a nap and I can (usually) work on some chores. This backfires on Victor's workdays though. Some days, her nap can wait until he gets home if he's done early enough. On Tuesday he stayed an extra 15 or 20 minutes when he came home for lunch to put her to sleep. After she conked out, I moved her to the couch and Daddy went back to work. Thursday and Friday were not so lovely and peaceful around here at naptime. There was no Daddy, but there was certainly one sleepy little girl. Boy can she put up a fight when she's determined, which is, well - always.   Thursday was bad, but pretty short. Only 30 minutes or so before she caved. Yesterday, it was war! I read her stories. I had the fan on. I tried her noise machine. I put on music. We rocked. We didn't rock. So...

Welcome to Wordy Wednesday!   Today's Word:   Sensory Overload   Ever heard of "the straw that broke the camel's back"? Well, that camel probably had SPD and was already in "sensory overload" when that last straw was dropped on his back.  Sensory overload is a state of either gradual or acute bombardment to an individuals senses that causes them to be over-stimulated. This can occur to any one, sometimes. But for individuals with sensory problems, this is all too often a regular (sometimes daily) occurrence.    Tuning Out The average person's brain has been trained from in-utero to filter information it receives and to ignore information that the brain deems either non-threatening, not useful, or sometimes both. For example, the sound of a ceiling fan spinning. Everybody with normal hearing hears this sound. However, most people never notice it because their brain has trained itself to ignore it. It's not a threat, and the sound is...